Medical Marijuana Bill Advances In Missouri House

JEFFERSON CITY, MO — House lawmakers voted Monday to advance a bill that would allow patients with long-term and terminal illnesses to legally use marijuana. The original bill would only have allowed terminal patients access to the drug, but after floor debate, representatives approved amendments adding post-traumatic stress disorder, epilepsy, Alzheimer's and other non-terminal diseases to the list. Veterans and their families had previously testified in favor of adding PTSD in February.

The bill would only apply to patients over the age of 18 years old.

"I’m trying to provide some comfort to people who are in the last days of their life,” said Republican Rep. Jim Neely, the bill's sponsor. “It just seems like this is the right thing to do.”

Some Democratic lawmakers said the bill doesn't go far enough, arguing that marijuana should be legalized across the board. Despite changing attitudes to marijuana nationally, several ballot initiatives and bills to legalize marijuana in some form have been defeated in Missouri in recent years.

A final vote on the bill is needed before it can advance to the Senate — and possibly to the governor's desk.

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